This is biased, but whatever – Kobayashi’s podium in Japan was a fantastic moment. Kobayashi has deserved a podium for so long, it was brilliant to see him finally get one. The fans chanting his name before the podium ceremony was amazing, and the podium itself was great. Kobayashi was a hero that day.

Alonso’s win in Malaysia for me. He single handed saved the job of 700 people Maranello with a car that was a dog in the dry with light fuel loads. Williams taking their first win in 8 years near Frank William’s 70th birthday was also special.

That was Kobayashi’s podium. To hear the fans cheer like that was amazing. And then of cause Alonso’s win in Valencia which had the same vibes, but I felt that since it was Kobayashi’s first podium, to then do it in front of his home crowd takes it for me. Brilliant F1 moment.

I’m going to go against the general tide and say that I was very pleased to see Maldonado take his first victory, not just because of its significance for Williams – who many of us probably believed would never win another GP – but also for the driver.
Having followed him through GP2, I had seen him show flashes of potential and great speed in his first three seasons, but also, in his title-winning season, the consistency that had previously been lacking. I was convinced he not only deserved to be in F1 on merit, but also had the potential to achieve decent results.
However, due to a variety of factors – his financial backing, the hopeless car he ended up in for 2011, and some controversial incidents – he received a lot of criticism, and the fact that he had matched up very respectably to the vastly-more-experienced Barrichello was largely ignored.
His drive in the Spanish Grand Prix proved that my faith in him was not misplaced. He didn’t crack under pressure from Alonso. He didn’t try to pull away from the Ferrari and destroy his tyres in the process. He didn’t crash out. He put in a performance of which few believed him capable and which begs the question of what he could achieve in a top team, with a little more consistency.
Based on Senna’s achievements in the sister car, the Williams has no business mixing it with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari – yet on a number of occasions this year (particularly in qualifying) Maldonado has got it up there. His underdog performances – of which the Spanish GP was the obvious peak – have been a highlight of the season for me.

New faces on the podium – after 17 consecutive races of only 5 drivers sharing the podium, it was good to see someone new there this year. Perez’, Grosjean’s and Kobayashi’s first podiums were great to see, and of course Rosberg’s and Maldonado’s maiden victories.

Alonso and Ferrari getting the most out of everything – when I saw an onboard lap in a Melbourne practice session, where Alonso was struggling to keep the car going in the right direction, I was convinced he wouldn’t fight for the title. But thanks to Ferrari improving the car, the reliability of the car, Ferrari’s great strategy and consistent pitstops, and of course Alonso’s fantastic driving on the very limit allowed them to fight for it. It’s been a privilege watching Alonso’s brilliance, especially in Sepang, Valencia, Silverstone and Hockenheim. In this century, I haven’t seen anyone drive a better season than that.

The closeness of the field – after Vettel’s and Red Bull’s dominance of 2011, it was a breath of fresh air to see teams being so close on performance. Races were wildly unpredictable with as many as 7 teams challenging for race victories in the first five races, which was fantastic.

Schumacher’s last podium – Schumacher’s return has been far from a success, so it was nice to see him at least get a podium out of it. Though one wonders what could have happened in Monaco without the grid penalty and the car failure…

Alonso’s victory in Malaysia – Alonso’s brilliant season featured some great races, but Malaysia has to be the best. After qualifying 9th, where the car belonged, Alonso took advantage of every situation and ended up with a shock win. Obviously the car worked much better in those conditions, but still. You could really see how much it meant to the team in the tough times. “If ever a team needed a victory, it was Ferrari today,” as Martin Brundle said. I can’t see a better way to motivate hundreds of team members than taking the lead of the championship despite having the 5th or 6th fastest car.

European Grand Prix, for Alonso’s epic home win and celebrations, with the emotion getting to him on the podium. This race also featured Schumacher’s first (and probably only) podium since his return, which was delightful.

Japanese Grand Prix for Kobayashi’s podium, and a simply crushing domination and grand-chelem from Vettel. He destroyed the field on that weekend.

Also, seeing so many drivers on the podium compared to last year, having 2 first time winners, and Raikkonen getting a win in his comeback year, while maintaining 3rd in the championship.

Personally, Abu Dhabi holds two of the best moments of the 2012 season (so far) for me, with Raikkonen returning to winning ways in his first year back in the sport and Vettel’s superb fight through the field almost twice over! There was some amazing racing that day!